New Perspective
by Wildrose504
Summary: Piper McLean is the princess, and soon to be ruler, of the country Lehpid. But when King Jupiter from the country Snathe calls war on her father over an eleven year long rivalry, Piper takes it upon herself to solve it. (Jasiper Royalty AU)
1. Chapter 1

"One day, you will be a fine ruler of this country."

Piper's father smiled down at her from his seat on his throne. Ever since she was a little girl, that was the phrase he would tell her, over and over again. One day, she'll rule this country. All the people, everything everywhere, will look up to her. When she was younger, the thought of it terrified her. Leave everything to daddy and mommy, they'll fix everything, they always did.

But now, as the time for her accepting the throne as her own approached, she was ready. She was ready to prove to everyone how strong of a ruler she could be. Just as great as her mother was when she was alive. Just as looked up to.

Piper pressed her lips together at the thought of her mom. She had so little memory of her, she was so young when it happened… so young when her mother left.

Piper pushed the thought out of her mind and finally nodded at her dad.

"I'm aware father, you've told me many time before," Piper replied, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

She was seventeen years old, meaning that she'd be taking the throne in three years on her birthday. Having a whole country as your birthday present… just great. Piper slumped back in her throne and sighed. Today was an awfully slow day. The whole building was usually bursting with activity, people coming in and out, the staff running around attending to their jobs.

But today, it was as if no one needed anything, which was strange, because the people of Lehpid _always_ needed something. Her father must have noticed too. His face was full of confusion as he got up from his throne and walked down the steps.

"I need Gerard," he said firmly and loud enough for the staff to hear.

Footsteps were heard as the staff ran around searching for Gerard, who soon came down to the throne room with a nervous look on his face. The general scratched his head and gave the king a small smile.

"King Tristan, there's something I need to talk to you about…" the general paused when he realized Piper was looking at him.

Piper was no doubt, full of curiosity. In exactly three years, she would be dealing with stuff like this, and she wanted to learn how to deal with it now.

Sadly, Gerard didn't think she should be listening.

"How about we take this into the next room, king," Gerard said, still watching Piper.

Tristan, realizing what was going on, agreed, and followed Gerard to the next room over.

Piper let out a groan. She hated being left out of things, absolutely despised it. For some reason, her father thought her being left out was actually for the better.

An idea suddenly hit her. She looked around the room to be sure no one was coming anytime soon. She got up quietly and snuck out of the throne room through another door. She walked down the halls of the palace, carefully looking for her friend.

Piper stopped at the dining hall where she was sure she heard his voice, and it almost sounded like he was talking to someone. Piper raised her eyebrows and walked into the room.

"Sorry if I'm disturbing bu-," Piper stopped mid sentence when she saw the person in the room with Percy was the duchess, Annabeth.

It wasn't as if they were in a intimate position, they were just holding hands, but Piper didn't expect to see Annabeth right then and there, holding hands with her best friend. It was almost as if they were having a moment too, because the look on Percy's face wasn't a good one.

It was sort of sad, afraid, confused, all in one. The duchess' face wasn't any better. She held Percy's hand in hers, slowly circling her thumb around the middle in an attempt to console him. She had a bittersweet smile on her face and she was resting her head on Percy's shoulder.

As soon as they heard Piper's voice, they immediately jumped up.

"Princess," Annabeth said. Her voice wavered a bit, but not from surprise, definitely not.

Percy nodded her a greeting and turned to Annabeth again and whispered something in her ear. The blonde nodded and Percy and gave Piper a quick smile before leaving the dining hall.

As soon as she left, Piper crossed her arms across her chest, eyebrows still raised.

"How long has _that_ been going on, Percy?" she asked.

Percy let out a small chuckle and shrugged, "Has what been going on?"

The princess glared at him, trying her best to scare the truth out of him. But of course, it would never work, the two of them knew each other for too long. Percy knew all her tricks and she knew all of his.

Piper sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting that out of him anytime soon.

"Whatever," Piper shook her head, "Do you at least know what's up with Gerard and my father?"

That's when Percy's face turned stormy again. His eyes flicked down to the floor and he gripped his sword that was sheathed at his side, the way he did when he was nervous.

"Um… I don't think I'm in the right to tell you Pipes," he said.

Piper frowned, "What do you mean you can't tell me? I should be allowed to know Percy and I can't believe _you_ of all people can't tell me."

Percy sighed, "I could lose my job Piper, you know how hard I worked to become a knight."

"Tell me Percy," Piper continued, keeping her stance on the whole thing, "I won't let Gerard fire you, I promise!"

"I…"

"Percy."

"I don't think I can-."

" _Percy_."

"Are you sure-."

"Percy!"

The raven haired boy bit his lip and looked around to make sure no one was around, "Okay, fine, I'll tell you. Only because it'll make you shut up, though."

Piper rolled her eyes, "Fine. So…?"

His green eyes scanned the room again before looking back to Piper. He sighed and tightened his grip on his sword.

"King Jupiter has called war upon Lehpid."


	2. Chapter 2

"King Jupiter did what?"

"He wants to start a war… you know the rivalry Piper, you know how bad it is. I should have seen it coming," Percy grumbled.

"There was _no_ way you could have seen a war coming Percy," Piper said, "I'm even surprised myself."

Percy shrugged, "I think you're the only one surprised Pipes."

Piper furrowed her eyebrows, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Percy's eyes widened, realizing he just set off a ticking time bomb inside of her.

"Oh um, well… I don't think you know how bad this rivalry is."

She didn't say anything, she just sort of stood there, staring at him, thinking everything over. Maybe she didn't really know much about the rivalry, so what? It's not going to stop her from doing anything to help, and she _was_ going to help. No matter how hard it may end up being, no matter how dangerous. And she knew just how she was going to help.

"Percy I have a plan-."

"Oh no," Percy said, "No, no, no, you do _not_ have a plan, Piper please, just leave it to the knights."

"I'm not just going to 'leave it to the knights' Percy, I just can't cast this aside-."

"Yes you can! Piper, just please, I can't let you get hurt."

He walked closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Okay?"

His eyes showed how desperate he was. He was genuinely worried for her, and Piper knew that. Ever since they were kids, he never wanted anything to hurt her. Percy was so protective of her, and right now, she didn't need it.

"I have to do this," Piper said, "I really need to."

Percy frowned and let go of her, "Are you sure? Do you need me?"

Piper shook her head. She knew exactly what she needed to do, she needed the sorceress.

"I don't need your help," Piper began, "But I need Rachel's."

"Rachel? The sorceress? Are you sure?"

Piper nodded. She needed some magic in order to do this or else she'll never get away with her plan. It needed to be perfectly timed as well. Her father can never see it coming, or else he'll stop her.

"I'm one hundred percent sure on this, Percy."

Percy sighed, "Okay, fine, I trust you on this Pipes."

Piper beamed, glad that she finally got Percy on board. It was always such a difficult task to do after all. She started going over the small bit of a plan she had. It was barely anything actually, an eighty percent chance it might all collapse on her, a long shot. But it was the best she got, and she _really_ wanted to finally help out with something.

"One condition though, Pipes," Percy chimed in, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hm?"

"I'm coming with you."

* * *

The sorceress lived all the way on the other side of the kingdom, in a rocky cave deep within a dark forest. No one ever went there, at least, not a lot. Only a few people went to see Rachel. Not that it was actually dangerous or anything, at least Piper hoped so.

When they arrived at her cave, Percy scanned the area. Probably something he picked up when he was preparing to be a knight.

"Can we go in yet?" Piper asked.

Percy was still poking around, messing around the bushes and investigating the smallest noise.

"I doubt she's going to turn on us, Perce."

Percy let out a sigh, "I guess so. Okay then, let's go-."

"Um… no," Piper rebutted.

"What do you mean, no?"

"Rachel can't see you, at least not yet, I don't want her to feel like she's under attack or anything."

It was a lie. A complete lie. Piper knew quite well Rachel would never feel that way. She was such an advanced sorcerer and she could mess someone up in a heartbeat. She couldn't even be intimidated by a knight. But there was something Piper needed to discuss with Rachel that Percy couldn't hear, or else he'd do everything in his power to stop her plan, even going to tell her father.

Piper held her breath, waiting for Percy to answer. Fortunately he bought it.

"Yeah… yeah I guess that makes sense," he said as he gave her a crooked smile.

Piper grinned, "Good."

Then she disappeared inside the dark cave entrance.

* * *

The cave was, at the very least, strange. There were cluttered shelves that ran along the jagged cave walls, book piles on worn-out wood tables, and a pitch black cauldron sitting next to a small fire. The only light source was from flame, whether it be the almost green looking fire pit, or the candles dripping with wax that were scattered throughout the cave. It seemed… ominous. The whole place gave off an aura of power and mystery.

It wasn't until Piper turned her head to the right did she notice a dark figure facing her. Her heart skipped a beat, but the figure pulled off it's hood and revealed a woman with frizzy, bright red hair.

"Hiya!" the woman said.

Her bright attitude, hair, and even those bright green eyes, were in much contrast with the dark and gloomy feeling the cave gave off.

"You're Rachel," Piper finally concluded.

"And you're the princess," Rachel replied, eyeing her up and down, "fancy clothes ya got there, I'm not surprised."

Piper shrugged, "I guess so?"

"Hm," the sorceress placed her hand on her hip, "you're here for something."

The princess ran her hand through her hair quickly, in hopes that she could make things less awkward, "Maybe I am."

Rachel rolled her bright green eyes, "Oh _please_ , no need to be like that. I know everything before you even say it."

"For everyone? Really?"

"Really," the sorceress replied, "well, it's only in times like this, I suppose. People tend to be more predictable when they're nervous, for me at least."

"Ah," Piper said, "that's cool… I guess."

"Not very, I have many more, for lack of a better term, tricks up my sleeve."

The red haired girl gave her a small smirk after the statement, as if it was one of the most clever phrases ever. She wasn't as near as intimidating as Piper has thought she would be. She even reminded her of Annabeth, in the faintest of ways. Maybe it was all of the books, or perhaps the untamed hair Whatever it was, Piper was sure that the sorceress and the duchess will get along very well.

"Follow me," Rachel waved her over as she walked deeper into the cave.

Piper hesitated for a second, unsure whether or not to actually follow, but she came to the conclusion that she could trust Rachel.

The green eyed girl guided her down a long hallway lined with candles that surprisingly didn't go out. Piper concluded it may have been magic, this was a sorceress' cave after all.

They stopped in a cozy room which was dimly lit by a couple of candles, but for some reason, it was strangely warm. There was a classy table in the middle surrounded by three chairs. Rachel snapped her fingers and immediately a pot appeared with two tea cups. The third chair disappeared and the table looked more appropriate for a pair instead of a group.

Rachel sat down at one side of the table and motioned for Piper to join her, which she did.

"Sorry about the slight delay," Rachel said, "I felt that you were bringing a friend? Perhaps my senses are off."

The sorceress looked deep in thought, her eyebrows furrowed, as if she couldn't believe she made a mistake.

"Oh no! No, I brought a friend. Perseus Jackson, you should know him… you know everyone, don't you?" Piper quickly interjected.

Rachel chuckled, "I do know everyone, and yes, Perseus Jackson. The knight. Where is he? Why isn't he in here?"

She picked up her tea and took a sip, raising her eyebrows curiously waiting for Piper's answer.

Piper bit her lip, "I left him outside because there's something I need to talk to you about… In _private_ and I really don't need his intervention. He's-."

"Very protective of you," Rachel interrupted, "Yes I'm aware, continue. What's this thing you need to talk about."

The sorceress had a playful smile on her face, as if she found the whole ordeal entertaining. She leaned forward on the table, sincerely interested in what Piper had to say.

Piper smiled nervously before continuing.

"I have a plan… I'm going to Snathe-."

"I'm aware," Rachel said, "Perseus knows too. I need to know the parts that you _haven't_ told anybody dear."

Piper gulped, "Yeah okay, sure. So I want to go to Snathe and see the prince. Prince-."

"Jason," Rachel finished, a green eyes so wide it reminded Piper of an owl's "Oh dear. I see."

Piper nodded. "Yeah! So it takes a while to get to Snathe, so I need you to transport Percy and I there."

"Done," Rachel replied, "Anything else?"

The princess pursed her lips, "And I also need you to come with me. I need protection."

Rachel laughed, "And Perseus isn't protection enough?"

"He could be and he is," Piper said, "in the right occasions though. He could lose his temper at Prince Jason and probably get us both in trouble. I need someone of a calm stature of yourself Rachel, and if we _do_ get in trouble, your magic can help us. I even heard Snathe doesn't have a sorceress."

The girl smirked, "Lovely… but what's in it for me?"

"Anything you want," Piper replied.

Rachel's whole demeanor changed. Her mouth opened a bit and her eyebrows jumped up. Almost as if she'd never gotten an offer like that before. Perhaps she was used to debates, but well, Piper wasn't going to give one. She _was_ the princess after all, and she had just enough privilege to get the sorceress anything.

"O-Oh," Rachel stammered. She put her tea down and quickly got back to her relaxed nature, "So, when do we leave?"

"Tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

Jason was worried about the war. Except it wasn't for his own country, it was for Lehpid. It was a known fact among many that Snathe was much more advanced when it came to war. They had the finest knights, great generals, everything. The strongest thing Lehipid had was a sorceress, the people of the country were too scared to talk to anyway, so they opposed no huge threat.

That's exactly what Jason was worried about, they showed no threat. His father could crush that country in a second, just one word.

Jason couldn't help but feel a bit bad from the unfair advantage. At the same time though, he felt as if he had to learn to deal with this stuff. Not everything could go his way, and perhaps fighting Lehpid was for the best.

Then again, princess Piper was still fresh in his mind.

Years ago, King Jupiter and King Tristan were actually friends. Before the rivalry ever began, Piper and Jason saw each other on a regular basis as their parents met up. They had built a strong friendship over the six years of knowing each other. But then something happened, something both kings were sure to keep away from their children.

After that, Piper and Jason never saw each other again. They couldn't even keep in touch, due to the heavy censorship of most tech in both of their countries. The kingdoms believed that technology lead to the destruction of society and decided that keeping most of it out was for the best.

So now, here Jason was, sitting on his bed in his room and just wondering how did it come to this. To the point where their families hated each other so much. For a while, Jason pushed it all to the back of his mind. He never thought about Lehpid again. It worked… for a while.

Lately Piper kept on coming back into his head. She was such a good friend too. He barely had a memory of her, but the little he had was so strong, if that made any sense.

He usually threw these thoughts to the back of his head though. One day he'll be ruling Snathe, and one day Piper will be ruling Lehpid, and they'll be expected to be enemies as well. To carry on what their fathers didn't finish. _That_ was what people expected from him, and Jason wanted to make people proud.

" _Jason_ ," he heard someone snap.

The blonde looked up to see his older sister Thalia standing in his bedroom doorway. She had a hand on her hip and her eyebrows were raised.

"Dad wants you in the throne room," she said, "You're _late_."

"Wait what?" Jason asked. He glanced at his watch, one of the few tech allowed in their countries, and sighed. He _was_ late. It's not like there was much for Jason to do anyway. Just sitting there and waiting for something to happen. Jason was tired of that life, but sadly that's what he was living.

"I'll be right there," Jason said as he got up and smoothed his shirt.

"Whatever," she replied as she walked away.

Jason stood there for a while, just thinking. He sighed again and walked out of his room and into the living room. He was just about to turn to walk down the steps when he heard a zap behind him.

The prince froze in his spot when he heard a slightly familiar voice.

"Okay," the voice said, "we need to find prince Jason, but we have to be quiet. I don't want any run ins with King Jupiter…"

Jason turned around and the voice trailed off when their eyes met.

It was Piper. The same Piper he hadn't seen for years. The daughter of king Jupiter, princess of Lehpid Piper. It was… _Piper_.

Jason's first thought about her, after seeing her after all this time, was that she was still _really_ short.

"Well," a red headed girl beside her said, breaking the long silence there was, "it didn't take long to find him. Step one, done."

The green eyed boy standing on the other side of Piper shifted uncomfortably.

"Well," he said, "I'm Percy, um, you already know Piper I think? And the other girl is Rachel."

Jason's eyes glanced over Percy and Rachel, then back to Piper. He was still amazed that she was standing here, in Snathe.

"Hey," Piper said, barely audible. She gave him a small smile.

"I… you…" Jason stammered, "Y-you're short!"

Jason mentally face palmed himself. That was probably the most stupid thing he's said to anyone, and he said a lot of stupid things.

Piper just grinned a bit in response, but then her face turned serious. She took a step closer to the blonde, making him feel a bit more self conscious. Her face remained emotionless as she began to speak.

"Your father declared war."

Her voice was firm and steady. Her eyes calculating. Jason resisted the urge to run away. He'd never felt this nervous in a while. It wasn't like she was scary, but he didn't know what it was.

"Yeah," Jason replied, struggling to keep a collected composure, "I"m afraid so."

Piper raised an eyebrow and walked even closer, crossing her arms over her chest. "You _do_ realize we have to stop this right?"

Jason furrowed his eyebrows, trying to decipher what just happened. Piper came here to ask him to help her stop the war? He had figured that Piper had went along with her father, agreeing not to want anything to do with the royal family of Snathe. But here she was, in his living room. Asking him to help her stop the war.

"I… um…"

"The whole thing is going to be disastrous," Piper continued, "We don't even have modern weapons, only freaking _swords_ Jason. It's going to be a huge bloodbath and-."

" _Jason_!" he heard Thalia call.

He had lost track of time. He was still needed in the throne room. He groaned and yelled back.

"Coming!"

"You have to _hide_ ," Jason hissed.

"What?" Piper said, confusion taking over her face.

"Uh," Jason looked around frantically, trying to find a place where all three of them could stay comfortably for a while.

That's when Reyna walked in.

"Jason," she said, "I'm going to be in my room if you guys need-."

She cut herself off when she saw Piper there.

Her eyes narrowed, "Is that the princess of Le-."

"Yes!" Jason answered quickly.

The duchess clenched her jaw. Her lips were pressed together, but the way she was looking at him made it clear that she had absolutely no idea what to feel about this.

"Reyna, do me a favor and keep this a secret."

Reyna had a perfect straight face. Obsidian eyes examining the scene, jumping from the princess, to Rachel, to Percy, to Jason, and then surprisingly back to Rachel.

"I suppose," Reyna said, "that I can."

Jason exploded with gratitude and tackled his friend in a hug.

"Thank you Reyna!" he said, "now keep them in your room and make sure they don't leave."

"I don't need a babysitter, Jason," Piper rebutted.

"I didn't agree to watch over them!" Reyna called after him.

Jason was already running down the steps, but he did manage to hear her sigh with defeat and tell them to follow her.

Even though Jason had mixed feelings about the fact Piper was here, he couldn't help but feel a little excited about it. It seemed like a break from his regular life. Piper was here, good old sweet, adventurous, stubborn Piper. Despite the fact there was actually a priority at hand, Jason was determined to do some catching up.

He arrived in the throne room and took a seat on the right side of his father. Thalia was on the left. King Jupiter sat silent for a while, his head resting on his hand, looking as if he was bored out of his mind. It was so silent that Jason was startled when his father finally spoke up.

"Who were you talking to upstairs?"


	4. Chapter 4

Jason's mind stumbled over possible answers to his dad's question. His mind was at a blank, and he probably had the most ridiculous look on his face. Piper had just arrived and Jason was already about to screw it up.

"Um," Jason said.

His father continued to stare at him, a stern look on his face.

"Please excuse Jason's behaviour Dad," Thalia butted in, "He's still waking up from his nap. It was Reyna he was talking to, her voice was acting funny."

King Jupiter furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her. Thalia had a bored expression on her face, acting as if it was no big deal. Well, it shouldn't have been if they were going with Thalia's story.

Jason calmed himself down, "Yeah, her voice was acting funny."

King Jupiter nodded and his expression calmed down a bit. For him, at least. Thalia kept her calm expression but shot Jason a look that said, 'tell me everything'.

The day in the throne room was exhausting. Not even exhausting, just boring. Tiring on your brain. All of these people bringing their complaints to the king, some didn't even make sense. Of course Jason wanted to help them, but he wasn't exactly at liberty to. So what did he have to do? Literally just sit there quietly practically the whole afternoon.

He and Thalia were sort of like accessories. Just there to make the king look good in some way. Jason dozed off at one point. By the time he woke up it was time to leave, and he rushed out of that throne room like lightning.

He arrived upstairs and opened the door to Reyna's room to see Piper, Reyna, and Rachel sitting on Reyna's bed in the middle of a conversation. Percy was in the corner looking around the room as if to make sure it wasn't a trap.

"Hey," Jason said, "so Piper, you wanted to talk to me?"

The princess of Lehpid nodded and got up, quickly followed by Percy. The redhaired girl stayed with Reyna, saying that she had nothing else to do anyway. Piper and Percy followed Jason out of the room and into Jason's room so they could talk privately.

Jason blinked. "You need me to do _what_?"

"We need to stop the war Jason," Piper said, "you and me, we're going to be ruling these countries one day and I really don't want a rivalry… especially not with you."

Jason's eyes widened and he could feel his face heating up, "Uh yeah, same I guess."

Piper smiled a bit, "Good, we have an agreement."

The knight, Percy, spoke up, "And I really don't want a war either, I have too much to lose."

The princess gave him a knowing look before going back to Jason, "So you agree, we're going to do this?"

"We're going to _try_ ," Jason corrected.

Piper pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows, "We have to do more than try."

Jason shrugged in defeat, "Yeah."

"Okay then," Piper said, "first we have to know the root of the rivalry… do you know?"

"I don't," Jason replied, "and you?"

"I don't."

"Did you think this through?" Jason said.

"She doesn't think things through," Percy said.

Piper rolled her eyes, "Okay, fine, so neither of us know about the rivalry. We can improvise, right?"

Jason sighed and sat down on the bed. Piper crossed her arms and sat down on the bed next to the blonde. Jason look over at her and she honestly look very upset.

"I just don't know _why_ my father is keeping this from me," Piper said, "that's how it's always been, him keeping stuff from me."

They all remained silent for a while before Percy spoke up.

"I know a little bit about the rivalry," he said.

The silent environment quickly broke as soon as the words came out of Percy's mouth. Piper's face showed a wide range of emotions, from surprised, to sad, to angry, confused, everything.

"You knew and you didn't tell me?" Piper asked.

"It's just a little bit, it won't be helpful much," Percy answered.

"So what is it?" Jason said.

Percy looked around and Jason concluded, he must do that a lot. He understood though, Percy was a knight, he always had to be on his toes.

"The general of Lehpid, Gerard, told me that it was over a girl."

"My father was married to my mom, Percy," Piper said, "he… it couldn't be over a girl."

The look on Piper's face was absolutely devastating. It was a fusion between anger and absolute hurt and Jason didn't like it one bit. He was used to the always smiling Piper, the one from eleven years ago, not this one. The last time he saw her like this was at her mother's funeral. That's not the kind of face you'd like to see on a six year old, or anybody close for that matter.

"Was he cheating on her?" Piper said.

Percy shook his head, "I don't know, all I know is that it was over a girl."

Jason wanted to lean over and hug Piper, hold her hand, play with her hair, anything that would make her smile. But it's been eleven years since they've seen each other and he was sure it would have been a bit awkward. There was something about Piper that just made you want to make her happy, ever since they were kids.

Jason couldn't say that he understood what Piper was feeling. His mother, the queen of Snathe, died when Jason was only three. He barely remembered her, but all Jason knew was that she had turned to alcohol, but he never knew how she died. He did know that his father really didn't like talking or thinking about it.

"I'm sorry Piper," Jason said, "but we don't know for sure… not yet, okay?"

That was his best attempt at comforting. He wasn't exactly _good_ at it.

Piper looked at him and smiled, "Yeah, okay."

Jason could still see how sad she was, but she was trying her best to hide it.

"So the rivalry was about a girl right?" Piper said, trying to keep her voice steady, "let's try and see what girl was important to both of them, I guess."

Jason nodded, "And the war, it'll start soon, but I don't know what the knights of Snathe have planned, so keep your friends safe."

"Yeah," Percy said.

Jason almost forgot he was there. He winced.

"Sorry," Jason said.

"Whatever," Percy replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll try my best to postpone," Jason said, "talk to my father."

"Yes," Piper nodded, "and I'll return again tomorrow night. We still have a lot to plan."

Jason blinked, "Again? Tomorrow?"

The princess shrugged, "Yeah. Got a problem?"

"Nah," Jason shook his head and glanced at his watch. It was almost one o'clock in the morning.

"I should probably go," the brunette said, "you need sleep and I need to be back before anyone notices… you know you're not that hard to work with."

She had a smirk and her face that Jason immediately grinned at.

"I know."

Piper smiled and got up, "Bye. Come on Perce."

With that they walked out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Piper and Jason continued with their meetups throughout the week. Jason was doing a good job delaying attacks on Lehpid, and Piper was hard at work trying to find more information on the woman that was the subject of the war. Unfortunately, her investigation was for the most part, unyielding.

Her father refused to give any information about the woman. Whenever she brought it up he seemed to be fighting back tears. Whoever she was, it was quite obvious she was very important to her father.

As for Rachel, the sorceress was spending quite a lot of time with the duchess of Snathe, Reyna. When they got back from the first visit, she had told Piper that what she wanted was to see the duchess again. So Piper continued to allow her to tag along, though it wasn't necessary. It was made clear that she didn't need the extra protection and the sorceress could just transport them there without coming along.

Piper thought over all of this as she sat in the throne room. She stared longingly over at her mother's throne, wondering how she would have handled the situation. The princess huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. It was just a regular, boring old day.

At least it was.

General Gerard came running in, his face pale.

"Sir," he said to Piper's father, "I, um, we. Snathe-!"

The king stood up, "Can we take this into the next room, Gerard."

Piper glared up at her father, anger in her eyes. She was tired of everything being hidden from her. Also, the fact the general seemed so out of it, so nervous, and it was about Snathe…

"Tell me, Gerard," Piper said with a bold voice.

Her father opened his mouth to retaliate but Gerard was too nervous to hold it in, and Gerard didn't get this nervous often.

"Snathe is importing supplies and weapons from other countries," Gerard blurted out.

Piper's eyes widened and her father's mouth dropped open, but he closed it again just as fast.

Piper knew years ago, her father and King Jupiter both chose to stay away from modern tech in their kingdoms. It was sort of like an oath, in a way. The last bit of their friendship that still stood. But now King Jupiter was breaking it.

Piper's father looked outraged, then betrayed, and he ended up having a stern look on his face.

"He can play dirty," King Tristan said, "so can we."

The king went on telling Gerard to contact allies, get some modern weapons and such. While Piper agreed with all of this, getting more modern, she couldn't help but think about one of the first things she told Jason. That they didn't even have modern weapons, the war was gonna fail. Could he have possibly told King Jupiter?

The mere thought of it made her feel sick to her stomach. She wanted to make a point of why the war was bad, not help in the process of making the war happen. It made her feel sort of used. Piper crossed her arms over her chest and listened in on her father and finally walked away to contact modern allies. leaving Piper in the throne room by herself.

Piper kicked her legs back and forth, munching on the apple in her hand as she sat on the table in the dining hall. She wasn't supposed to be there, or even sitting on the table at all. Her father was in a meeting though, so she had a bit of free time in her hands.

Percy sat to her right. He was dressed rather casually, considering he wasn't on duty right now. He was sort of quiet at the moment, and that worried Piper. He was usually talking his face off, so the fact that he wasn't confused her.

"Perce, are you alright?" Piper asked.

The raven haired boy looked up at her, and gave her a crooked grin. Though his eyes looked distant, distracted and clouded. Piper tried to keep herself from frowning and playfully punched his shoulder.

"What's up punk?"

He shrugged, "Nothing much, I mean, there's gonna be a war."

"I'm very much aware, Percy," she rolled her eyes, "So, what's up with you and Annabeth?"

His eyes widened and he pursed his lips, "What about us?"

"I'm not blind, Percy."

He let out a small laugh, "I guess you could say there's something going on. I mean, on my part at least. I'm not sure about her."

Piper raised her eyebrows, "Are you serious?"

Percy raised his hands defensively, "What?"

The princess let out a huff, "Whatever… is that what's worrying you?"

"In a way, I guess," Percy replied.

Piper ran her free hand through her hair and took another bite out of the apple. She knew it wasn't the full truth, that there was more to it, but it didn't seem like she'd be getting more from him anytime soon.

"So how is it with that Jason dude?" Percy asked.

Percy had been skipping out on the visits, so he wasn't exactly up to par.

"Well," Piper said, "I didn't go for the past two days."

"Huh, why?" Percy asked in a monotonous voice.

Piper sighed at his weak efforts.

"I think, I'm pretty sure, he told his dad what I said about weapons not being good enough for a proper war. That's how come King Jupiter is getting modern tech. It's small, and sort of stupid I guess, but I feel betrayed in a way."

Percy shook his head, "I get it, I think. Maybe you should go talk to Jason about this."

"You want me to talk to him?" the princess asked, "I thought you didn't like him."

"Yeah but you do."

Piper felt her face heat up, but she didn't know why.

"Yeah, whatever. But I'm mad at him," she continued.

Percy gave her his famous 'sucks for you' look.

"Piper, sweetie, you have to work this out like an adult."

He grinned at her and she scoffed. But she had to admit, he was right in a way. There was a war she needed to end, and she was getting nowhere just sitting around being mad at the prince. She needed to do something about it.

"I'll go to Snathe tonight," Piper confirmed.

She hopped off of the table and ran up to her room, hoping that none of the staff caught her. Maybe she could get a few hours to herself.

Only for her to get into her room and see a familiar blonde nervously looking around.

"Jason?"


End file.
